HOSTAGE RELEASE RUMORED FOR DECEMBER

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAMAKO 001389

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/04/2017
TAGS: ASEC PINR PINS PREL ML
SUBJECT: HOSTAGE RELEASE RUMORED FOR DECEMBER

REF: A. BAMAKO 01356

B. BAMAKO 01222

C. BAMAKO 01364

Classified By: Political Officer Aaron Sampson, Embassy Bamako, for
reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)

1.(C) Summary: Northern Malian sources have reported that
Tuareg bandit Ibrahim Bahanga is preparing to release the
hostages on December 8, while contacts within Algeria's
Embassy to Mali reported a possible December 14 liberation
date. While lacking specifics, recent discussions about the
hostage crisis with actors from three very different vantage
points - the Governor of Gao, the spokesman of the Tuareg
rebel Alliance for Democracy and Change, and the Regional
Director of the International Committee of the Red Cross -
provided further indications that Mali and Algeria believe
they have the situation under control. End Summary.

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Movement on the Hostage Front?
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2.(C) On December 4, Dayti ag Sidamou, the National Assembly
Deputy from Tessalit and the "Finance Secretary" of the
Alliance for Democracy and Change (ADC),told the Embassy
that Ibrahim Bahanga could liberate the hostages he has held
for more than three months as early as December 8. Ag
Sidamou is currently in the northern border town of In Khalil
and indicated that Bahanga said he would not be able to
assemble all of the hostages, who are reportedly dispersed
throughout northern Mali and elsewhere, prior to this date.
A contact with ties to the Algerian Embassy in Bamako
reported that the Algerians are also envisioning a December
release date, but expect it to come later, on the 14th.

3.(C) Ag Sidamou reported that morale among Bahanga's Malian
associates is low. One contingent of Bahanga's group
reportedly detained a caravan of three vehicles transporting
drugs between Tin-essako and Tinzawaten during the weekend of
December 1-2, and are attempting to extort money from the
traffickers. Negotiations between Bahanga's group and the
owner of the vehicles, identified only as a Tuareg Iforas
named "Ati" from Tinzawaten, are currently underway.

4.(C) Ag Sidamou also stated that Algerian Arabs and Tuaregs
believed to have been involved in the Nov. 8-9 rocket
propelled grenade attack against an Algerian military plane
in the south-eastern Algerian city of Djanet recently
appeared in northern Mali in the region of Timitrine, about
200 KM from In Khalil. An ethnic Tuareg customs officer
based in Tessalit provided a similar report. Both contacts
expressed concerns about the intentions of these individuals.


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The Governor of Gao, Algiers and the Gandakoy
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5.(C) The Governor of Gao, Col. Ahmed Baba Toure, traveled
to Algiers with the Governors of Kidal and Timbuktu and
Minister of Territorial Administration Kafouguna Kone a few
days in advance of President Amadou Toumani Toure's November
24-25 meetings with his Algerian counterpart. Col. Toure
told the Ambassador on November 29 that his role in Algiers
was not to help negotiate the release of the hostages but
rather to revive cross-border cooperation between local
officials in northern Mali and southern Algeria. He said the
Governors of Gao, Kidal and Timbuktu had invited Governors
from southern Algeria to attend a meeting in Kidal in
February 2008 to improve security coordination and strengthen
commercial and cultural linkages.

6.(C) Although Gov. Toure did not participate in the hostage
negotiations in Algiers, he speculated that Bahanga may be
using the strategy employed by the GSPC during the 2003
hostage crisis involving a group of German tourists. Gov.
Toure was one of the Malian officials who negotiated with the
GSPC for the release of the German hostages. He said that,
like the GSPC in 2003, Bahanga likely passed hostages off to
other warlords in Mali, Niger and Chad for safe keeping.

7.(C) The Governor downplayed the recent assassination plot
against him by alleged members of the Gandakoy militia in Gao
(ref A). Prior to Governor Toure's meeting with the
Ambassador, a member of President Toure's entourage told the
Embassy that the Governor was afraid to return to Gao and had
refused to use the official vehicle at his disposition,
preferring instead to drive himself around Bamako in a small
Volkswagen to avoid drawing attention. While the Governor
was indeed driving his own Volkswagen, he told the Ambassador

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that he was relatively unconcerned by the plot, described the
threat as overblown, and reported no security concerns for
the Gao region. Interestingly, however, his travel schedule,
which involves visits to France and Niger, will keep him out
of Gao for much of the next two months.

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Tuareg Leaders Fail to Find Bahanga
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8.(C) On November 29 ADC spokesman and National Assembly
Deputy Ahmada ag Bibi returned from Kidal, having failed to
establish contact with Bahanga. Ag Bibi and the National
Assembly Deputy from Kidal, Alghabass Intallah, traveled to
Kidal in mid-October as part of a self-appointed negotiating
team composed of local Tuareg leaders (ref B). While they
were unable to speak directly with Bahanga, ag Bibi and
Intallah did meet with some of his associates. Ag Bibi told
the Embassy on November 30 that he believed Algeria prevented
members of his delegation from speaking face-to-face with
Bahanga.

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Mali Rebuffs Offer From ICRC
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9.(C) On December 3, Juan Coderque, new chief of the
Dakar-based Regional Delegation of the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC),told the Embassy that the
Malian government had rebuffed an offer from the ICRC to
establish contact with the Malian hostages. Mali said ICRC
assistance was not needed as negotiations for the hostages'
release were already underway. Although Coderque intended to
discuss the hostages' whereabouts with the Algerian
Ambassador to Mali while in Bamako, a last minute scheduling
conflict forced the Algerian Ambassador to cancel. Coderque
said he had heard the same rumors as others in Bamako that
the hostages may be scattered throughout northern Mali, Niger
and Chad. He questioned, however, reports that Bahanga
handed some of his hostages over to the Mouvement des
Nigeriens pour la Justice (MNJ) as the hostage numbers
reported to the ICRC by the MNJ have not changed since the
Malian hostage crisis began in August.

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Comment: Thanks, But No Thanks
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10.(C) ICRC involvement could have increased pressure on
Bahanga, as the ICRC was prepared to demand access to the
hostages to assess their condition. Mali's decision to
decline the ICRC offer, and the Tuareg delegation's inability
to even speak with Bahanga, is in line with what appears to
be a concerted effort by Mali and Algeria to keep
negotiations with Bahanga largely in-house. It also suggests
that Mali remains willing to defer to Algeria to defuse the
crisis. News from ag Sidamou that Bahanga is collecting the
hostages is encouraging, and tracks somewhat with prior
reports that one factor blocking an earlier release was the
logistical challenge of getting them all back on Malian soil
(ref C).
McCulley